Tell leadership in Congress to support the Latonya Reeves Freedom Act! - Call the House Minority Leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, at (202) 225-5936.
- Ask that he support the Latonya Reeves Freedom Act (H.R.2708) and make this bill a priority.
- Tell him that people with disabilities must have a clear right to live in their communities. People with disabilities need a federal law protecting our rights to live in freedom!
The Latonya Reeves Freedom Act is bipartisan and bicameral civil rights legislation that addresses the injustice of people who need Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) being forced into institutions. The legislation, a previous version of which was known as the Disability Integration Act, builds on decades of Disability advocacy and activism to end institutional bias and provide seniors and people with disabilities with Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) as an alternative to institutionalization. The legislation ensures Disability Freedom by: - Clarifying that every individual who is eligible for LTSS has a federally protected right to receive services and supports in the community;
- Requiring that states and other LTSS insurance providers deliver services in a manner that allows Disabled individuals to live in the most integrated setting, have maximum control over their services and supports, and lead an independent life;
- Articulating the right to live in the community without creating unnecessary government programs, ensuring that states have broad latitude to determine how they will secure this right;
- Establishing a comprehensive planning requirement comparable to the process states used to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act which includes addressing disparities in the provision and availability of HCBS; and
- Requiring public entities to address the need for affordable, accessible, integrated housing that is independent of service delivery.
Why We Need the Latonya Reeves Freedom Act by the Center for Disability Rights
The Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision doesn’t protect everyone from unwanted institutionalization. Olmstead is an interpretation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which covers state and local governments. Although most people receive Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) through Medicaid, which is covered under Title II, not everyone does. For example, some people may receive LTSS through insurance companies funded by private equity. Because those entities are not covered by Title II of the ADA, Olmstead doesn’t apply.
Under Olmstead, treating professionals are the gatekeepers of Disability Freedom. Twenty-five years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Olmstead that a person with a disability had a right to receive services in the most integrated setting when treatment professionals determine that community placement is appropriate. That means under Olmstead treating professionals can deny a person with a disability their right to live in freedom.
States are not required to create new programs under Olmstead. Although Title II requires that states reasonably accommodate people with disabilities, states are not required to fundamentally alter their programs or create new services. That means states do not need to change eligibility requirements, establish new waivers, or create new services if they aren’t already in place, even if that means they are forced into institutions. As an example, a DeafBlind individual may require the assistance of a Support Service Provider to avoid going into an institution, but the state is not required to establish a program to provide such services.
Olmstead was a historic decision, but we have made limited progress and, in fact, have lost some ground. Our community celebrated 25 years of the Olmstead decision this year, and although funding for community-based services has increased and people have moved into the community because of the decision, we cannot deny that a quarter of a century later Disabled individuals continue to be locked away in institutions. Let’s look at the numbers. According to the US Census, in 2000, a year after Olmstead was decided, there were 1.72 million people in nursing facilities, according to the US Census. Twenty years later, in the 2020 census, that number only dropped to 1.68 million people. That’s a small reduction (4.8%) over two decades post Olmstead. Over those 20 years, the number of people who are 65 and older in nursing facilities decreased by 10.8%, but the number of people under age 65 in nursing facilities increased by 53.0%!
Finally, the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Olmstead and reverse all the progress we have made in securing Disability Freedom. Although Olmstead may not have been the strongest decision we could have hoped for in 1999, we have made advances using it. Even so, the Supreme Court is poised to overturn the decision and wipe out the gains we have made. Justice Clarence Thomas in his Olmstead dissent described exactly how he would reverse Olmstead. The Supreme Court has been very clear that it is willing to roll back decades of precedent and Justice Thomas likely has enough votes to turn his Olmstead dissent into the law of the land.
The Biden Administration tried to address this by writing and finalizing the Health and Human Services 504 rules to bolster the Olmstead decision, and under the Chevron doctrine, the courts would have been required to defer the HHS rules. However, in the Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court reversed Chevron and eliminated that limitation on the courts, which now can nullify the HHS 504 rules, and ultimately set up the reversal of Olmstead. The Supreme Court did make it clear that the courts must still defer to statutes when the statutory language is clear. That makes the Latonya Reeves Freedom Act even more important.
The Latonya Reeves Freedom Act would protect Disability Freedom by enshrining our right to live in freedom in statute and prohibiting states and LTSS insurance providers from using waiting lists, cost or service caps, and inadequate rates to restrict access to home and community-based services. |
